Broken Seals
by brakken
Summary: A hodgepodge collection, named for the first poem in the mix. New Addition: "The Seasons" four haikus for the four seasons the Inuyasha manga/anime played over.
1. Chapter 1

Broken Seals

For fifty years I lay

upon that tree

as good as dead

sealed in body, heart and mind;

I couldn't move an inch,

think a thought,

or feel even hope

Then you came

When the darkness seemed so complete,

I heard your call.

First you broke the seal upon my mind;

I knew who I was once again;

I could think, ponder, puzzle, and reason

before I even saw your face

Then, scared and confused,

desperate to be saved;

to be protected;

you broke the seal upon my body.

My mobility and strength had returned

and with my mind to control my actions,

I thought myself freed

I thought all the seals broken at last

But I was wrong

Understand, I beg you

there still is another

the strongest of the three.

It is made of ice and prejudice,

arrogance and thorns,

ignorance and a life of loneliness;

but most of all, it is a product

of betrayal of the worst possible kind

:one of love

Such bonds should have been invincible,

permanent,

to last through the ages without a scratch.

But somehow,

slowly,

you have been able to undo these knots,

melt the ice,

tame the thorns

You managed to do the impossible,

just by weakening the curse binding me at all;

and now that you are almost done,

you will leave me?

Don't you dare give up so quick,

not when you're so damn close already!

I can't take another fifty years with this spell renewed;

I need you

There's still one last seal to be broken,

one whose bonds have worn away to the last strands,

one that only you are capable of breaking.

Please

I beg of you:

Break this final seal

upon my heart

A/N: As I mentioned in the summary, this was inspired by a poem by BatmanSwiss from her series Poetry from the Warring States Era (I'm sorry, I've looked through them all again and again but I can't remember which one specifically). I hope it can compare to it's inspiration. And I also apologize for the lack of spacing: blame my computer which has decided to hate me recently. Please review?


	2. Chapter 2

Don't You Trust Me?

Time after time I've stayed by him,

stayed with him

when no one else would.

My friends are always

Trying to set me up with Hojo for just that reason-

to make me get over him

forget him

leave him

But I never do.

I never could.

\

Even when it seemed he'd chosen another

when I felt sure that_ he_ would leave _me_-

still I stayed.

I _asked_ him if I could

I realized that the only thing that _could_ keep me from staying was him—

and even then, I'd come back at a moment's notice.

\

And after all that, after all I put up with,

all the obstacles, and pain, and danger,

and heartache,

staying by him put me through-

he has the never to expect I'd leave now that Naraku and the jewel are gone?!

Now that our problems are solved?

Now that the danger and obstacles are past!

\

I don't know what to say.

tears are welling, pooling

sliding, falling,

dropping.

I just look at him;

I'm full of bitterness, longing

Despair, frustration,

Anger;

I don't even know what all I'm feeling right now

\

It all comes together in four words;

I try to keep my voice from cracking,

but fail;

"Don't you trust me?"

**A/N:** I actually wrote this a couple of weeks ago...Just never posted it. Weirdest thing is, I wasn't trying to write a poem about Inuyasha. I was trying to write one venting about someone and their utter idiocies (and trust me, this isn't a lover's quarrel). So it was kind of weird that this came out instead...I guess this is along the lines of 'Broken Seals' as well, now that I think about it...Hmm Ok I don't know what else to say here...Hope you like it.


	3. Chapter 3

The Other Side

--

I came from one side

You came from the other

I wonder

Who was the better?

--

I grew up with food

I grew up with family

I had my 'friends'

And money, and school.

--

You grew up wanting meals

You grew up an orphan

You had no friends

Save hunger, and loneliness.

--

You got a chance

You got an opportunity

She offered you a way

Out of your hellhole.

--

But you knew deep down

That the solace you might find

Would only please half of you;

The rest would be left behind.

--

Still, half was better than none,

And you said yes

And it seemed you'd almost won—

But someone else had other plans.

--

So you lost that chance,

So you lost that opportunity,

So you ended up worse off

Than ever before.

--

I got a chance

I got an opportunity

I offered you a way

Out of your hellhole.

--

I know I'm not her

You better know it too

'Cause guess what—

This may be your side of town,

But I'm a different side's kind of girl.

* * *

**A/N: **Make of it what you will. I had an idea for a story, but it decided to come out as a poem, and I conceded. It then promptly twisted itself to work from a canon perspective as well. Oh, pieces these days...they can never decide on what they want, can they?


	4. Chapter 4

**Nature's Perverted Paradox**

--

Yellow eyes, glaring

Twisted visage, snarling fierce

Inhuman ears twitch.

--

Focused, stalking prey

Human, vuln'rable, female

His desire is clear.

--

What else could those claws

—Gruesome, flesh-tearing, -ripping—

Ever be used for?

--

What use could those fangs

—canine, gnashing, dripping blood—

Serve save doling pain.

--

Who could ever love,

Ever bear the presence of,

Stand to be near this,

--

Fearsome, monstrous freak.

Garish, growling, greedy beast.

Banal, ugly thing.

--

So untouchable.

Totally unthinkable.

So. Unlovable?

* * *

**A/N:** The product of one idiot of a head director. Little poor me, sitting alone, with nothing but some paper and a pencil while the others all sang gloria…That probably makes no sense whatsoever to you, does it? Ah well. This being the internetz, I don't really feel the urge to elaborate on my private life. Suffice to say, someone higher up didn't think something through, and I was bored stiff with nothing to take my mind off it but paper and a dull pencil and a hard surface. So I decided to try my hand at haikus to pass the time…You see the result. 'Twas fun, in the end, I have to admit.

Hope you liked it.


	5. Chapter 5

_Kami, nande…?_

-

Why the hell

Can't I ever get it right?

Why the hell

Can't she ever understand me?

-

I try so damn hard to make this work

I try so damn hard to talk to her.

It never works.

-

The words come out

A jumble, a flight of confused phrases

And she takes 'em the worst way

Worse than I could ever dream.

-

What is this nightmare

I am stuck living in

What is this nightmare

Can't we both wake up?

-

You ask me something

I try to be honest

I open my mouth—

And it all goes to hell.

-

I didn't mean it, didn't try,

Never wanted you to cry

Why, oh God why,

Can't I just go and fly

-

Away…

-

Why, oh God why,

Can't I just say

What I mean.

-

-

**A/N:** Yet another thing I share with the doggie-eared guy: foot-in-mouth-itis. At least with him, it's fairly consistent. With me, it happens just rarely enough that people don't expect it, so I get pounded for it from most. It's the rare person who knows me well enough to know not to recognize it and not take it seriously…Unfortunately, that list does not include my father, nor does it include any of my teachers. You really don't want to know what prompted this beyond that.

OH, and yes, this isn't really my typical poetry. Been listening to a lot of alternative rock lately (yay for finally finding a good radio station for that) and it definitely colored this.

Hope you liked it anyway…


	6. Chapter 6

_Eloquence_

With posture so perfect you'd think it was planned  
With hair all so raven black straight, in a fan:  
falling, floating, framing pale skin flawlessly,  
Like porcelain, delicate, refined, perfect;  
As perfect as eloquence, those folds of eloquence  
So elegantly flowing, forming from lips  
and voice; so rich! So clear! So perfectly  
Astute, logical, clever, so eloquent.

And yet. The surface. So perfect. Is not.  
Matching the heart. The core, truth, sanity...  
So don't be fooled by her elegant ways.  
Her flawless appearance and attitude  
Hide a void, an emptiness, so bitter  
The surface doesn't even know it's there.

--

**A/N:** Bet you can't imagine who this is about…Well, actually, it's kind of more than one person. Not really, but kind of. What happened was that I was reading a fic, and it hit me just how similar Kikyou and Kurtz (for those who don't know: lazy ones should watch Apocalypse Now, and workaholics like me should read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad) really are…And by Kikyou, I mean the particular shade of her after her resurrection but before, say, Hakureizan? Somewhere around there. Season 2 Kikyou, in the anime. More or less. It's hard to pinpoint it though, because her development is (justifiably so) very long and gradual…Ah well. Most of you all probably just despise Kikyou in any form. So why do I bother? Perfection must be attained! Oh yeah…

As for the poem itself, it's an Italian sonnet mostly in iambic pentameter. There's a few places it deviates—like at the beginning with all those dactyls—but I tried to make it fit.

Ok, I confess. It's not iambic at all, really…but is in pentameter. The rhyming is completely coincidental. When it does happen…

Hope ya liked it…


	7. Chapter 7

**Sacred Jewel**

It's young, not old.

Get it straight.

It's soft, not hard,

What are you, an idiot?

It's got glinting gold-flecked flowing black hair,

And huge warm eyes, so fair,

And long, slim legs,—damn, hold it there!

The soul is still pink and pure

And frightening, powerful, that's for damn sure

And fucking hells, does it still lure

Those greedy bastards, left and right,

Trying to steal what ain't theirs; to fight

For what's _mine_; so I hold tight—

To her.

My girl.

My sacred jewel.

**A/N:** Having Inuyasha write poetry seems so absurd. And yet it's so much fun. He's a lot cleverer with his words than you'd think. He's got a gift for invective, clearly. He knows how to use words to his desired effect—and epitomizes the author's dream of conciseness. Mostly, his particular—voice, I'll call it—is in direct opposition to the obnoxious empty platitudes that so often pass for 'proper poetry'. You know, the ones that are so saccharine they make molasses look like it's not trying.

This poem might be a tad sentimental for him, but I tried to make it sound as much like him as I could. In the future, I even dream of attempting such absurdities as The Love Song of I. Taisho Hanyou. But that is for another day, my duckies. For the moment I have vector calculus to study…oh joy…|r'(t) x r''(t)| all over |r'(t)| is the normal component of the acceleration function of the position function r(t)…

Have I earned your sympathy yet? No? Ah well. I did try. Hope you liked the poem, at the very least...


	8. Chapter 8

_What I call her.  
_

_ What I think of her._

"Stupid!"  
That's what I call her.  
Because it's better than crazy.

"Ugly!"  
I spit it out.  
Because that's what I should think.

"Weak!"  
I stammer, scoff.  
Because she can incapacitate me with a glare.

"Coward!"  
I curse, pray.  
Because I get scared shitless when she's being brave.

"Bitch!"  
That's what I call her.  
Because I wish she was—mine.

Brave.  
That's what I think of her.  
Because she admits how much she cares.

Strong.  
I know it.  
Because she carries all our burdens without a flinch.

Stunning.  
I whisper, awed, to myself...  
Because goddamn it, I just can't stop myself sometimes.

Brilliant.  
I'll admit.  
Because she understands me better than I ever could.

Kagome.  
That's what I think of her.  
Because nothing else could ever say it all.

* * *

**A/N:** Just a little something I wrote a while back. December, I think it was. When I was half-insane from college essays. *Sigh*. Applying to 11 schools when each has at least one essay is not generally the best of ideas…anyway…I really like making up my own forms for poetry. Especially when they're super, super rigid. It's so delightful to come up with that scaffolding and then just add and alter where needed, free to find the best word without worrying about fitting the parameters you've half-forgotten already. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and, this is more poetry using Inuyasha's voice. I really like the way he talks, if you couldn't already tell…or, should I say, the way he thinks.


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning: **Inuyasha doesn't have the cleanest mouth.

-

**Destiny**

-

As these days march on

My thoughts degenerate

and I wonder if I'm a pawn:

stupid, not much but ornate.

A frill on the tapestry

of the Shikon's saga

nothing to its majesty

figures lost in the fog a-

bounding 'round its own

eminent importance.

-

But I think I've shown

my opinion: _shit-portance_.

If that shiny rock

thinks it's got the big cock

then it better damn well think again.

-

It's been thee long years

And I still can't see the end

We've shed blood, sweat, and tears

But the world's not on the mend.

Things keep getting worse

More people are dying

And there's been more than a first

time that I've felt like crying.

And those shards still shine,

smug, confident, self-righteous.

-

But I think you all know my line

to them, little bastards: _ass-righteous_.

If that shiny rock

thinks it's got the big cock

then it better damn well think again.

-

Because this quest is _ours_.

Not mine, not hers; we've all fought it:

Tore down Naraku's castles and towers

Found the jewel, broke it, then sought it

Clawed down his kugutsu; cut down his worms

All pushing for the same goal, same wish

to decimate him. So no tentacle squirms

and his designs are all squished

under our feet, like the filth they and he are.

That's our destiny: to stamp out that fucker.

And I won't take some stone, thinking it's a star,

telling us all; telling me, like some sucker--

that it knows better.

-

Keh. Don't make me laugh.

-

-

* * *

**A/N:** Call it a rap. Call it a poem. But it is in Inuyasha's voice, and I have a hard time seeing him writing eloquent haikus about cherry blossoms. And if he did, it would go something like this: Sakura blossoms,/falling, floating, drifting, pink/so fucking stupid. Nah. He wouldn't waste the time to do that. But something like this--he just might. I bow to The Warrior Song of King Gezar as my inspiration. Oh, and send a rude hand gesture Eminem's way to thank him for his. I apologize for the odd rhyming; I'm rather inexperienced (aka bad) with rhyming and meter.

Hope you liked it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Alive? Ignored? Indeed.**

-

Alive! I wish I were.

Beloved! I've dreamt of that.

Adored, admired,

Revered, desired.

My thoughts are often so inspired.

-

But well I know my fate:

-

Her shadow!: dreadful hiss.

Detector!: pain-filled mock.

Ignored, unseen.

Attacked; I'm mean?

My life erodes with each careen.

-

And so I dream my dream:

-

Of softest, longest stares;

Of whispers, secrets shared.

In fire's light,

'neath stars, at night...

My fantasies reveal my plight.

-

Oh woe, for I'm love-sick!

-

A mourning dove's lament

The lonely crane's last dance

Forgotten fans;

Haikus in cans;

My tears are echoed by woman and man.

-

As one we know, but dream; we're sick.

Alive? Ignored? Indeed.

-

**A/N:** I blame Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov for this. I started this just trying to write a fate poem for Kagome, seeing as Inuyasha got one. And wouldn't you know it, the styles are rather different. Not to mention that Kagome's ended up being all romance where Inuyasha's didn't talk about romance a jot. *Sigh*. But I guess that fits. I dunno. At this point I'm so tired of parsing words I just want to stop writing to begin with. But ah well. I'll be cured tomorrow, as usual with these binges.

Yep. I can feel my nastiness coming right on back. Expect more of Inuyasha's voice next time.

**Edit: **For those curious, the form used above is as follows (with letters representing rhyme scheme, as usual, and every foot iambic):

Line 1: trimeter, a

Line 2: trimeter, b

Line 3: dimeter, c

Line 4: dimeter, c

Line 5: tetrameter, c

Refrain: trimeter, d

[repeat 2x]

Line 5 of last verse: pentameter, same rhyme scheme

Last Refrain/Conclusion: 2 unrhymed lines, the first tetrameter, the second trimeter.

[for those who do not know, dimeter is four syllables, trimeter six, tetrameter 8, and pentameter 10]

And I just wanted to let you all know that I have another poem in Inuyasha's voice almost completed that _is _quite nasty—though in content, rather than rhetoric. You can think of it this way: his wrath is such that no curses could ever do more than waste breath better spent on vengeance.

Hope you liked it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Wrath**

-

A fire's in my veins

as I stride to the well.

It's raging, but contained

for now, it's in a shell.

Like a kappa, waiting with a pike

for its chance to strike.

-

But as I change times my

growl erupts, full-throttle.

Thundering, from the sky,

Boiling over bottle,

Shaking the well house, a threat: death-knell.

For the fucker who told her not to tell.

-

I walk quietly now.

Flashes of her face burst:

Nasty, punching, ka-pow!

Silencing growls, but thirst?

Spurring, whipping, inciting the flame

to shank, stab, and lame.

-

His scent reaches my nose.

I stalk, watching, waiting.

He hurries; shit, he knows!

Well, fuck that. I'm skating

'round him with ease; he's going nowhere.

And now I'll start giving him a real scare.

-

As I corner my prey,

I let loose a wild howl;

Watch his sanity fray,

and rip air with my growl.

He hisses, curses; finally calls:

"You've got some real balls."

-

I laugh; is this some joke?

But his 'tough talk' goes on:

"Or no brains. 'Cause no bloke,"

He flexed, to show his 'brawn'

"Tries to scare me without getting beat

From balls to brains, 'til they look like raw meat."

-

Her face burns in my mind

and my laugh dies real quick

and I step out to find

out if he'll let me pick

him apart, one bloody gouged-out strip

at a time: fig's pip.

-

Sick yellow light glows, my

halo, limning ears, then

horns—claws talons—and I,

_her_ guardian, hanyou, friend:

the avenging angel, armed by hell,

snarling with feral fury, smite him well.

-

**A/N:** Still not sure I'm happy with the ending. Part of me thought that a gory description could be the only possible ending, as this is told in Inuyasha's voice…but I knew that I didn't really know how to write it, and less so in this form. I like the last stanza here for the metaphor, among other things, but I don't know if 'smite' has the same sense of finality to you all as it does to me…

I guess what I'm saying is, if you think there is a better ending, please tell me.

Structure, for those interested: 666695/6666910 (syllable count per line) and ababcc for rhyme (more or less). I did not attempt to stick to nor even track any organization of stressed vs. unstressed syllables. But I did try to have every first line an intro (often factual and neutral, i.e., 'I walk quickly now') and use the next three lines for descriptions and the last two for conclusions. As for why the villain was British, I have no idea. I just needed to be able to rhyme 'joke' and 'bloke' popped into my head.

Inspired by The Fray's 'We Build Then We Break', though much was written under the influence of various Nine Inch Nails songs.

Hope you liked it.


	12. Chapter 12

The Fallen...

--

Sensuously, a wind

weaved its way through his hair,

tapped his breastplate,

trailed cool fingers across his skin...

-

Apologetic and

sincere, a single star

blinked down at him,

blessing his future endeavors.

-

Neutral and elusive,

a glimmer, as from the

shikon, or a

mirror, watched and vanished.

--

...Have Risen.

**A/N:** Just an elegy I cobbled together at the promptings of 'Fairytale' by Kalafina (thank you for the link, kokoronagomu). The first paragraph refers to Kagura, the next Kikyou, and the final one Kanna. The overall idea expressed was the proverbial 'the dead live on,' though I can't quite make myself go to the cheesy levels involved in letting the dead live on in the heart... Especially with these characters. Kagura being reincarnated (or living on--whatever) as the wind is obvious, and her teasing Sesshoumaru nearly as much; say what you will of the taiyoukai's affections, but Kagura displayed an obvious attraction to him, and even if it weren't of a particularly strong nature, I can't see how she could resist bothering him at least a little, once she had the freedom to do so. Kikyou was harder to morph, but I like what I settled on: a star. It may have originally been a Greek idea, but ah well. I thought it fit, because of the quiet, contemplative way the characters in Inuyasha always regard the stars--as if meditating. (The male in the paragraph is supposed to be Inuyasha.) It reminded me of Kikyou, what can I say. And Kanna's is a direct allusion to the impression she left upon Kagome at her death regarding the shikon no tama. And also a somewhat absurdly positive spin on my part, making Void become a glimmer of light...Anyway. Hope you enjoyed it. I've got another poem that's all haikus and symbolism I'll post soon enough.

Structure: 6648 (syllable count)


	13. Chapter 13

**The Seasons**

--

A cherry blossom,

young, surprised, fell through blue space,

down, down, and through time.

-

The cacophony

of the cicadas was crushed

by callous, hot cries.

-

The moon waxed, ripened

with love, hate, war, and our strength;

Friends and enemies.

-

A white and red crane,

victorious in battle,

waits, lonely, for spring.

-

--

-

**A/N:** Don't know about you all, but it still boggles my mind to think that the entire 500+ chap epic known as Inuyasha took place in one year. But I took a crack at showing the four seasons as they might have developed in haikus. I included in each one a symbol of that season (sakura, or cherry blossoms for spring, cicadas for summer, moon for autumn, crane for winter). There's also some cross-symbolism, if you can call it that. For example, I compare Kagome to a cherry blossom because young women often are (hence the popularity of the female name Sakura), and because I thought it fit so well: both are young, just blooming (in the context of this poem), and pure. And both, conveniently, fall a lot in spring. (Which is when the manga begins, for those who don't know; it was at the beginning of the school year, because the Japanese school year starts in spring). Also, the cicadas are quite obnoxious--almost as obnoxious as our favorite couple's scream-fests, I'd imagine. Not too subtle with that one...And neither was the moon for autumn. Everything was coming to a head, building and groaning with tension, ripening much like the autumn moon. And as for winter--well, I couldn't resist the crane. Even if it's not the most common symbol of winter, it is a very commonly used symbol of longevity and long-lasting love, as cranes mate for life.


End file.
